C-SPAN bus rolls into Stamford

Updated 11:21 pm, Thursday, September 24, 2015

The CSPAN bus awaits students for a tour at West Hill High School in Stamford. Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015

The CSPAN bus awaits students for a tour at West Hill High School in Stamford. Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

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Students in Westhill High School’s Advanced Placement U.S. Government students board the CSPAN bus at the high school for a tour . Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015

Students in Westhill High School’s Advanced Placement U.S. Government students board the CSPAN bus at the high school for a tour . Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

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Westhill High School Advanced Placement U.S. Government students listen to a C-SPAN representative discuss the purpose of the television network’s bus during its visit to the high school on Thursday.

Westhill High School Advanced Placement U.S. Government students listen to a C-SPAN representative discuss the purpose of the television network’s bus during its visit to the high school on Thursday.

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

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Westhill High School Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics students Allison Villeda and Minh Nguyen use touchscreen monitors on the C-SPAN bus parked at the high school on Thursday.

Westhill High School Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics students Allison Villeda and Minh Nguyen use touchscreen monitors on the C-SPAN bus parked at the high school on Thursday.

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

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Westhill High School students listen to Matthew McGuire, the C-SPAN bus representative, as he explains the purpose of the bus on Thursday.

Westhill High School students listen to Matthew McGuire, the C-SPAN bus representative, as he explains the purpose of the bus on Thursday.

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

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The interior of the C-SPAN bus with touchscreen displays during its visit to Westhill High School.

The interior of the C-SPAN bus with touchscreen displays during its visit to Westhill High School.

Photo: Scott Mullin / For The

C-SPAN bus rolls into Stamford

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STAMFORD — The C-SPAN bus is big. Sitting directly in front of Westhill High School on Thursday, the mobile base of the nationwide cable channel dwarfed the yellow school buses clustered off to one side of the parking lot.

Inside, the bus looks like a cross between a newsroom and a high-end Internet cafe, amply air-conditioned, with large video screens arrayed along wood paneling, and aluminum accents. On the outside, amid a color scheme of red, white and blue, a line of text proclaims, “Taking you on the road to the White House.”

“We just re-wrapped the bus for the election,” said Matthew McGuire, a C-SPAN executive, speaking to seniors from Westhill’s Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class. The network, created 36 years ago by the cable industry as a public service, broadcasts the nation’s legislative-branch sessions.

The bus — with its TVs showing legislative coverage and its four touch-screen computers loaded with quizzes and election maps — is a mobile civics lesson. As groups of Westhill students boarded the bus, McGuire spoke to them about the branches of government, the democratic role of an informed populace and the importance of getting news from multiple sources.